How to Start

You do not need a wallet, a download, or any idea what you are doing. Come down the stair and press E at the first thing that glows.

Status: Live

1 · Open the stair#

Go to gogloam.xyz/play. It loads in the browser. connect a wallet and your progress is saved until you connect a wallet, so there is nothing to lose by having a look.

2 · Learn four keys#

KeyDoes
W A S D or arrowsWalk
EInteract — pry, cut, relight, talk
ShiftRun. Burns the torch faster.
EscPause

On a phone: drag the stick on the left, tap E on the right.

3 · Watch the torch#

The torch is the clock. It burns whenever you are off the Landing, and when it goes out you wake up back at the top of the stair, lighter than you went down. See Torchlight.

The Landing does not burn it at all. Standing in the light is free.

4 · Pry your first cache#

Caches sit in the dark with a faint ring around them. Walk up to one, press E, and the pry starts: stop the bar where the lock gives, three good bites and the lid comes up. Full rules in Salvage.

Tier 1 caches near the Landing are forgiving. Start there.

5 · Bank it before you get greedy#

What you pry is carried, not banked. Carried Tallow is what you lose when your torch goes out. Walk back into the light of the Landing and it banks itself, with no menu and no button.

The first hour

A reasonable first session: pry four or five tier 1–2 caches, cut some lichen in the Cistern, and get back up with a few hundred Tallow. Do not go past the Warrens on your starting torch. The Gloam will still be there.

6 · Connect a wallet, if you want progress kept#

Sign-in is a signature, not a transaction. It proves you hold the key. It moves no funds and approves no spending, and you can play indefinitely without it.

Once connected, your Tallow, salvage, relics and deepest floor are stored against that wallet and follow you to any device.

Where to go next#